Technology in Hybrid and Remote Work

Many businesses have had to rethink how and where they work as a result of the pandemic. It has changed the way business leaders think, how employees want to work, and how customers expect to be treated. All businesses require technology to collect, manage, and advance customer interactions. To adapt to the new world of work, business strategies and tactics must be constantly rethought and adjusted.

Despite the pandemic's devastation, there have been some positive effects on overall customer engagement. The most important of these is an acknowledgement of the critical importance of empathy. As a result, there has been a renewed emphasis on the big picture. Customers are more concerned with having their problem resolved than with hearing background noise on a call. While customers have traditionally had the upper hand in demanding higher service levels, this is changing as global supply chain disruptions cause significant delays or shortages.

Here are three technologies that businesses can use to maximize the value and productivity of a hybrid and remote workforce:

1. Check that your CRM tools are appropriate for the job.

Modern customer relationship management (CRM) systems, more than ever, must support the ability to stay close to existing customers while also securing new prospects. Businesses must use a CRM that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into its functionality to augment staff knowledge and aid in workload prioritisation. CRMs that use sentiment analysis can automatically route sensitive incoming cases to more experienced or senior customer service/support representatives. More importantly, your CRM should eliminate blind spots, enable rich customer information, and reduce blind spots and roadblocks. The AI should be smart enough to automatically enter information into the system, freeing your teams from manual data entry to focus more on customer interactions.

2. Customer Data Capture, Management, and Analysis

A data-driven strategy is essential for increasing sales, customer satisfaction, and conversion.

Data growth is exponential, and the need to digest and make sense of it has outpaced the capabilities of the human mind. Many data points can be quickly captured, analysed, and valuable insights extracted using technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools in your CRM can reveal hidden insights, and predictive capabilities can assist your teams in identifying new trends and customer opportunities. Intelligent software can more accurately manage stock and supply orders, reducing the need to discount excess or unwanted stock.

3. Accept Automation

Any repetitive task that follows a consistent set of steps is a good candidate for automation. There are tools available to help small businesses unlock their full potential. Automation can easily handle data entry, task automation, data crunching, and predictive analysis. This allows teams to focus more on the human side of the business, such as customer interaction, innovation, collaboration, and empathy.

Technology is a powerful ally that allows you to maximise the value of your data while freeing up employees to work on higher-value tasks. By selecting business systems that use AI, ML, and other assistive technologies, you can improve your teams' capability and capacity, allowing you to spend more time delighting your customers and less time wrangling data and administrative tasks.